16 Sep Parenting during a Pandemic

By Anonymous

It all started with my family and me laughing and joking on a Sunday night. We were preparing for Monday, gathering school clothes, ensuring that homework was complete and important documents were in the correct folders, ready to be turned in. It was a regular Sunday evening—until my oldest son entered my room and said, “Mom, my throat feels funny.”

I asked him for clarification of what “funny” meant. He described a tickle type of sensation in the back of his throat. I immediately panicked. For more than a year now, all we have heard about is COVID-19. The schools call every day with new cases, the news reports COVID-related deaths daily and social media is filled with theories and doubt.

After listening to countless reports, I knew the “tickle” could be one of the first signs of COVID. I didn’t want to scare him; he’d already expressed anxiety around the topic a few weeks earlier. I gave him some over-the-counter medication and told him that we’d visit the Urgent Care first thing in the morning.

When we arrived at the clinic, they took his vitals; he had a low-grade temperature and the throat “tickle” had turned into a feeling that he described as “something stuck in my throat.” They gave him a rapid test.

And it was positive.

He immediately began to cry. He clenched me tightly and asked, “Mom, am I going to die?”

I did what any parent would do; I reassured him that he was NOT going to die.

But deep down I was scared, too.

On that first day of his diagnosis, he was still acting like his usual self. Everyone else in the family went to get tested—and we were all negative.

We made special arrangements in our home so that he could quarantine and help keep everyone else safe. He started to display grief as he thought about the day before when we were all together, interacting with one another.

I could tell that he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. I did my best to reassure him that everything would be alright and that none of this is his fault.

Day two, the effects of COVID-19 settled in. He was miserable—coughing, body aches and fever. He tried to smile and talk to us through FaceTime, but I could tell that he was breaking down.

That was the night I broke down. I cried because I didn’t know how to help my child.

Day three rolled around, and he was like a zombie—barely responsive and feeling completely miserable. He wouldn’t eat or drink. I assured him yet again: everything will be okay; this too shall pass.

By day four, I was nearly hopeless. So, I turned to my faith. I prayed and cried; I asked for guidance.

I began to research and came across the monoclonal antibody treatment. I immediately found a location offering it and made an appointment. I honestly did not understand everything about it, but I was desperate to help my child through this horrible virus.
My son was so weak that we had to carry him to the car. The whole ride over, he was out of it, barely able to open his eyes.

I tried my hardest to stay in good spirits and talk to him. I prayed with him and reassured him that he would be okay.

When we arrived, there were several others that were in the same shape as he was. I asked the nurses a lot of questions, and they explained that the injections would help significantly lessen his symptoms and strengthen the antibodies needed to fight COVID-19.
We both took the four injections. Within approximately 20 minutes, I noticed that my son seemed a little more alert. After the hour-long observation was complete, he had come alive.

It was very challenging to watch him suffer but I had to keep reassuring him that he would survive.

There were so many controversial statements and opinions about the monoclonal antibody treatment online that I almost overlooked it as an option. As it currently stands it is only approved for emergency use with the FDA. As the numbers continue to climb, we are in a state of emergency, especially here in Florida. The nurse who treated us told me that they had treated approximately 300 people in this one day. She described how people were walking away feeling 10 times better than when they walked in.

I witnessed firsthand the healing power of the monoclonal antibody treatment and would strongly recommend it. It’s been a little over three weeks since we had the shots. He still struggles with what’s known as the COVID rash, which resembles measles, on his torso and back. It appeared after his cough and fever went away. But as he continues to heal from this horrible virus, he now has a sense of hope that he will survive COVID-19.

Which is something no mother ever thinks she’ll have to write about her precious child. But here we are, parenting during a pandemic.

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